How do u know if ur called to fulltime ministery?

Excellent reply from Bro. Sam.

Those who think God is asking them to become involved in a spiritual ministry should consult the leaders of their church and begin preparing (Bible School etc).

God speaks personally to us, He doesn´t use messengers to give us messages. Our church leaders help us in confirming the calling and giving advice.

No matter what, you are called to ministry, the Great Commission in Mark 16 makes that clear. The only question is what KIND of ministry are you called to? Is it full time, pastoral, prophetic, evangelism, etc.? In my case for example, I wanted to be an evangelist from the time I was a little kid. It was all I ever wanted, and it's still all I want. However, God did not specifically tell me HOW to get started. The good news is though, if you walk with the right motives, God will always guide your steps. Now I have been doing it for ten years, and I get to travel all around the world and preach the Gospel.
He might give you specifics, He might not, you just have to obey what you already know to be true, and the rest will fall into place.

http://www.newheightsministries.net

Your calling is found in the first two words of Matthew 28:19. "Therefore go". Don't over think it or spiritualise it, just go. I've been on the mission field for four years. Missionaries are ordinary people who take the great commission seriously. God Bless You.

Well, my story doesn't seem to be as dramatic as some- but I'll tell it if you're willing to listen. I have always been a "bookworm" sort of person. When I was 13, I became the Youth Pastor for the youth Group at my church I was surprised, as it was mostly a popularity contest and I wasn't very popular considering that I actually -wanted- to learn what was being taught. The position was also largely ceremonial, with the class taught by an adult. However, I went up to the Pastor of the church and asked if I could work with him and develop my own sermon or two, and he thought it was a wonderful idea. Long story short, I tried to make sermons that would keep people my age interested. This led to a five-year "reign" as Youth Pastor, because the other youth actually had fun listening to me and during the discussions. At 18, when I was no longer able to be the Youth Pastor, I pretty much shelved the whole experience as a fond memory. Recently, I've been having an itch to do something similar. About six months ago, I looked into being ordained, and found a place that would do it with a minimum of fuss, for exactly the amount of money I was looking at. I went through the process of becoming recognized by the State (Ohio, in this case), and thanks to a friend who is close with his minister, I was allowed to give a three sermon series. The sermons went over well, and I'm looking into doing this more full-time.


I suppose the whole point of the story is that all this seemed to happen gradually (and continues to do so). It didn't happen overnight, there was no night-time visit by Metatron, and more importantly, it also took me being willing to help myself. God shows us our way, may even give us a prod in the back, but doesn't pick up our feet for us. I'm still not certain if I am called to proper "full-time" ministry or just "every-spare-second-I-can-find" ministry.



It will take some soul-searching and quiet thought to determine what your true plan is- and in the end, it may be a failed plan that leads you to the successful one!



I'll end with a cliché. "Life is a journey, not a destination. So quit running!"

I also think that there is a calling for everyone according to the great commission but for every situation it is different. Some are working fulltime in a job and spread the word on there work. Some are called to be fulltime in a ministry. In every situation it is diffrent i think. To start it is very important to know that God as a father loves you so so much. Not only knowing this in your head but also in your heart. No matter what you do he loves you. I always felt guilty that "others" where in fulltime ministry and i was not. The last months i learned that it starts with loving God as a father.

My personal story about full time ministry :

I had a nice job as a insurance agent, my wife also had a good job as a teacher and we owned a nice apartment, everything that we needed was there. In 2009 we asked ourselfs if we where happy with this situation or that we wanted to do something else with our lives. We gave eachother a month to pray and think about what we wanted with our lives. After the month we made the decision to sell everything we had, quit our jobs and go to follow a fulltime bibleschool in Redding, California at Bethel School. We had our interview and got accepted. While arranging our visa our insurance company told us that they did not wanted to give health insurance for me and that there was no option to go to the USA. I felt terrible and i thought my world would collapse. We already quit our jobs, sold our belongings and lives with friends because the apartment was already gone. But i was glad that God was in control. After a week of prayer and fasting he provided for a new location - Norway. We followed te heart module at catch the fire school of ministry in Tonsberg and had great times. We also went on outreach to Niger and Nigeria. Here we found out that we felt something that touched our hearts so we decided to stay in Norway to follow the next school wich is more based on leadership. To make a long story short, we are now in Norway following a school without money and without any income. The last month God provided in diffrent ways which is amazing and after the school we will be part of this ministry in Norway to do missions in West Africa. Sometimes it takes a step to find out what God wants for you. He did not answer our prayers clearly what he wants for our lives but as long he does not answer we will stay where we are.

Sometimes taking a step can be very scary or crazy but it sometimes takes a step in faith to come somewhere and God will show where to go.

Not every calling on somebody's life means that you have to do the same. Just follow your heart.

Much Blessings,
Theo

Reverend DeMarr said:

Well, my story doesn't seem to be as dramatic as some- but I'll tell it if you're willing to listen. I have always been a "bookworm" sort of person. When I was 13, I became the Youth Pastor for the youth Group at my church I was surprised, as it was mostly a popularity contest and I wasn't very popular considering that I actually -wanted- to learn what was being taught. The position was also largely ceremonial, with the class taught by an adult. However, I went up to the Pastor of the church and asked if I could work with him and develop my own sermon or two, and he thought it was a wonderful idea. Long story short, I tried to make sermons that would keep people my age interested. This led to a five-year "reign" as Youth Pastor, because the other youth actually had fun listening to me and during the discussions. At 18, when I was no longer able to be the Youth Pastor, I pretty much shelved the whole experience as a fond memory. Recently, I've been having an itch to do something similar. About six months ago, I looked into being ordained, and found a place that would do it with a minimum of fuss, for exactly the amount of money I was looking at. I went through the process of becoming recognized by the State (Ohio, in this case), and thanks to a friend who is close with his minister, I was allowed to give a three sermon series. The sermons went over well, and I'm looking into doing this more full-time.


I suppose the whole point of the story is that all this seemed to happen gradually (and continues to do so). It didn't happen overnight, there was no night-time visit by Metatron, and more importantly, it also took me being willing to help myself. God shows us our way, may even give us a prod in the back, but doesn't pick up our feet for us. I'm still not certain if I am called to proper "full-time" ministry or just "every-spare-second-I-can-find" ministry.



It will take some soul-searching and quiet thought to determine what your true plan is- and in the end, it may be a failed plan that leads you to the successful one!



I'll end with a cliché. "Life is a journey, not a destination. So quit running!"

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I'm wondering what kind of education you have, and how you feel about it. When you teach, your mistakes could cost someone their soul. I can't imagine a bigger responsibility. It's a sobering thought.

childofGod1 said:

I'm wondering what kind of education you have, and how you feel about it. When you teach, your mistakes could cost someone their soul. I can't imagine a bigger responsibility. It's a sobering thought.

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Ah, a common enough question. I’ll say up front that my educational background is bereft of college-level theology. I have an Associate’s Degree in Nursing, and after discovering that Nursing is not my calling, I am currently in school for an Associate’s Degree in Digital Forensics. I’ve met people who are aghast that I dare teach anyone anything without a Doctorate in theology, and I’ve met those who appreciate my teachings and never so much as ask if I‘ve a degree in basket-weaving!

I suppose the best way to answer the question is to say that I am not unaware of the cost of my ‘mistakes’, and that were I to lead anyone astray- especially due to laziness in research or outright slovenly ministering- I would have to answer for it one day.

That said, education is a funny thing, and to a limited extent a buzzword. For example, the aforementioned pastor that I worked with as a youth had his Doctor of Philosophy in Theology, and was a very learned man, yet when I wanted to give a sermon concerning the speech of Elihu in the book of Job, he and I studied it together- he had never looked at that speech as the basis of a sermon, only the lessons garnered from the book in its entirety. It did not mean that he wasn’t smart, or suddenly didn’t have a classical education- it was a simple issue of not being familiar with the subject matter (or more accurately, the depth and implications of the subject matter). Having a degree conferred upon you does not in any way mean you are / aren’t familiar with anything specifically. You can argue, I suppose, that having a higher degree confirms that your critical thinking skills are present; something needed when trying to build a sermon from scratch or if counseled for advice. To that I point out that I do indeed have a higher degree, and I am working on a second! For a more recent note, the minister who allowed me to give the three sermon series listened to my first sermon privately before giving me the okay.

I believe it is up to the individual to determine his/her level of competence. If I am asked a question to which I don’t know the answer, and it is not an emergency situation, I ask for time to research. If it is an emergency situation, or an answer is needed almost immediately, I have a cell phone and the numbers of a few other pastors for just such an occurrence. In a worst-case scenario; I default to what I learned from nursing (apologies for the following extended metaphor) - the first priority is to stabilize the patient. Knowing the correct medicine to inhibit blood flow does you no good if the patient (spiritually) bleeds out while you run to go get it. It is a matter of opinion, I suppose, but I’d like to think that I am capable at stabilization, if nothing else. After they’re stable, the next option is to either give medicine (knowledge), or if you aren’t sure which medicine to give, to transport them to someone that does. The analogy is imperfect, but hopefully you know what I mean. : )

I hate to default to this, but it’s pertinent: There are many ministers and priests who lead people astray even WITH classical / religious education. I believe that the intent of the teacher is far more important than the training of the teacher. That said, a teacher has to be knowledgeable. When you teach, you should be intimately familiar with the topic and at least a few of the common arguments that you may overcome them- or at the very least, discuss them intelligently. You cannot have a Masters in "I know this topic well enough to teach it", only a Masters degree in, say, psychology. With a MS in Psychology, it is assumed that you know quite a bit about the basics of psychology, for example that Freud was the pioneer of psychoanalysis, but you may not understand his contributions in the field of microscopic neuroanatomy without further, more specific study. Using the above example, I can likely take a day to do enough research (not just on Wikipedia! ) to figure out his contributions, and look up what was built off of them and what is still used in present-day psychology, and explain it to someone as well as someone with a MS in psych- as the topic was new to both of us!

I suppose the “up-shot” of the whole idea is that you get out of Teaching what was put in, and that Ordination is only as special as you allow it to be.

PS- To “Servant Of The Lord Jesus”, I apologize for hijacking your thread! childofGod1, if you want to continue this discussion, we can either move it to another thread or continue in PM. I’m not opposed to continuing it publicly if you wish, as I am sure you aren’t the only one with that question! Just let me know!

The last confirmation is that God is continuously blessing us in this. I never could have seen myself doing this or anything like it. I am an introvert by nature and hate to talk,

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This seems to be a common thread in the best "ministers" I know..

If Not For Grace said:

This seems to be a common thread in the best "ministers" I know..

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just curious: why the quotation marks around "ministers"?

Interestling, after I became born-again, I received my call from the Lord about going into Ministry. It was something that I couldn't understand why He had called me, but I just knew in my heart that this is what He wanted me to do. I declined the call the first time but a few years later I received the call again and have surrendered to the Lord and have became ordained and a senior pastor/ founder of Eye of the Storm Ministries. To answer the question tho of "How do I really know if you are really called?"

My answer to that question is, you just know 100% in your heart that He is leading you into it and have peace about it. The Lord doesn't call everyone into Ministry, but the people that He does will know without a doubt and the call will never go away because the Lord doesn't give up on anyone. He is the God of second chances!

Pastor Michael

eyeofthestormministries said:

My answer to that question is, you just know 100% in your heart that He is leading you into it and have peace about it. The Lord doesn't call everyone into Ministry, but the people that He does will know without a doubt and the call will never go away because the Lord doesn't give up on anyone. He is the God of second chances!

Pastor Michael

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Amen to that! Unless you ignore the call unto your death, I don't think it is ever "too late" to answer! Several people in this thread have said that they didn't listen the first time, or were too afraid... but you have the desire (Thread Starter), so I say try it. Try coming up with a sermon. Try practicing one in front of a relative or friend. If you are comfortable in that position, then it is likely for a reason! I wasn't entirely sure myself until I stood up in front of a small college group and delivered a short lesson. It just felt... right. Words came where normally I would stutter, I just felt myself knowing what to say!

Reverend DeMarr said:

Amen to that! Unless you ignore the call unto your death, I don't think it is ever "too late" to answer! Several people in this thread have said that they didn't listen the first time, or were too afraid... but you have the desire (Thread Starter), so I say try it. Try coming up with a sermon. Try practicing one in front of a relative or friend. If you are comfortable in that position, then it is likely for a reason! I wasn't entirely sure myself until I stood up in front of a small college group and delivered a short lesson. It just felt... right. Words came where normally I would stutter, I just felt myself knowing what to say!

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Absolutely! Any practice is very rewarding and it will give a person complete confidence. Do you have an email address I can contact you at?

eyeofthestormministries said:

Absolutely! Any practice is very rewarding and it will give a person complete confidence. Do you have an email address I can contact you at?

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Reverend.DeMarr @ gmail.com forwards to my personal e-mail, though I will be at work much of the evening. I look forward to hearing from you!

(I would have sent this as a PM, but my post count is not yet high enough)

Thanks! I know what you mean about our post counts not high enough. I tried to post the link to my ministry website and it won't let me yet lol

Ive been curious about this, I had a really big feeling that I was being led by the Lord last year in October that I was called to Ministry by him. I knew that this means a life of spirtually maturing before I was fully ready. But then in January I was hit off the path, which its true when you are at your highest the Devil will pull out the strong stuff, i mean i suddenly began to change my ideas on my call to ministry, doubting myself, but now on track I believe I have reaffirmed the feeling... I also have always loved to study the Word, and teach it, and even given a Sermon once, and it just feels like seen in a much earlier post, in a "peaceful" position when I am doing that stuff...idk why i posted lol but there!